Compliment Corner

More than anything else, it seems, I find myself teaching my students how to be polite and respectful (somewhere in between I teach math and reading too). We have consistently focused on using kind words. You wouldn't believe how cruel my third graders can be. After years of elementary school, they have managed to learn the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' (mostly), but have failed to understand the contrast of 'kind' and 'rude' behaviors. They have very limited experience learning how to deal with their frustration/anger in a positive way, and even less practice actually reaching out to encourage others, just for the sake of being nice. In an effort to extend our many conversations on the issue, I introduced 'Compliment Corner' - a place where they can practice giving meaningful, genuinely kind words to one another. Instead of always finding surface level things to say, for example "I like your shirt"; we are working on finding more "special" ways to compliment our peers.
Each student has their own mini envelope with their name written on it. Students use small slips of notebook paper to write thoughtful notes about the positive behaviors they notice in others. There has only been one instance in which a student chose to write a hateful note and deposit it in someone's envelope, and I took the opportunity to nip that in the bud real quick. Overall, Compliment Corner is proving to be a very sweet addition to our classroom :) I think it is helping to build friendships and a positive environment (we all know students learn better if they feel secure!).
After the first week, my students demanded that I add an envelope for myself. Below are two notes I received the other day - one brought a smile and the other, a bit of laughter...